Storm
by fire mystic
Summary: Tifa is worried about Reno. ReTi for The Sacred and Profane.


_For The Sacred and Profane._

_I neither own nor profit from ffvii or its characters. _

_Warning? allusion made to premarital relations. I don't even know if it's worth mentioning._

_Enjoy._

_fire mystic_

Storm

What was that noise? Tifa couldn't make sense of it; it certainly wasn't part of her dream. It stopped as suddenly as it started, and she relaxed back into sleep, into the sensuality of her dream.

Reno hung up his cell, scowling at it. As if it weren't bad enough that work was about to drag him from being curled up with Tifa in a warm bed, the ringing had almost woken her as well, and he didn't want to disturb her so early in the morning. As quietly as he could, he showered and dressed before crawling up next to his girlfriend and drawing her into his arms.

Tifa woke to the sensation of Reno's hand skimming up her arms. It seemed, at first, an extension of her dream, but then she heard her name whispered once, twice, in her ear. Rolling into his embrace, she opened her eyes groggily.

"Reno? Why are you sleeping with your goggles on?"

He smiled down at her, eyes twinkling with amusement. She was so cute when she was sleepy.

"I've been called in, Tifa. I've got to go to work."

She scrunched her nose at him, rubbing at her face like a cat.

"What time is it?"

Reno didn't bother checking the clock.

"It's early. Really early. You go back to sleep. You've got a couple of hours before the alarm rings." Tifa blinked, turning to glance out the window.

"It's dark out there." Reno smoothed her hair down. She was still half asleep.

"Yeah, Tifa. It's still night. Go back to sleep." He pressed a kiss to her temple, then pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and carefully got off the bed. He turned back before he walked out the door.

"Love you, Tifa."

* * *

Tifa woke up a couple of hours later, slightly disoriented; where was Reno? She had discovered since moving in with Reno that she loathed waking up alone. He had a way of wrapping himself around her while she slept and holding her till she woke that made her feel special and cared for. It was a habit that, like so many other things, she hadn't expected from him, but then nothing in their relationship had been what she expected.

She checked the nightstand. That's where he would leave a note. Nope. Nothing there; that meant he had woken her to tell her. Trying to clear the cobwebs from her brain, Tifa tried to remember what he had said. Work, of course. That's what it always was.

She clambered out of the bed and spent a good hour trying to wake up and get moving. This was so not like her. She didn't feel well, her head aching slightly, and she was tired and irritated. Unable to concentrate on anything, she finally gave up on doing what she had planned, which simply added to her put-out mood because she would spent the next few days playing catch-up on what she had put aside.

Crumpling on the couch, she turned on the news and heard the weather report. As she watched the weatherman wave his arms at the pictures of the storm front moving in, she slowly straightened, the inevitable worried girlfriend question coming to mind: Did Reno have to fly today? It was very possible since they had called him in on special assignment. Had he mentioned it this morning? She couldn't remember, but as the minutes passed, she found she couldn't relax without knowing.

She hesitated before dialing Reno's cell. She hated calling him at work; she didn't want to be the girlfriend that called twenty three times a day. In the end, it didn't matter; she couldn't get the call to go through anyway. The connection was down somewhere between them. After pacing the floor and checking out the various windows in the house to look at the darkening sky, she contemplated her next best option, and finally couldn't stop herself. Dialing Shinra's number, she tried to figure out who she would most likely be able to get information from. By the time a secretary picked up, she had decided Elena was her best bet, if she was available. Although they were not great friends, Elena was one of the few people who had championed her relationship with Reno.

Elena, thankfully was there, and confirmed that Reno had indeed taken a chopper out early that morning, and as of yet hadn't returned from the mission.

Elena didn't sound worried about it.

Tifa wondered if Elena had heard the weather report.

* * *

Reno watched the sky as he waited for the guards to pick up the package he had been sent for. He had no idea what it was; that wasn't part of his job, but he couldn't help but wonder why it was so important that Rufus insisted he go out on a day promising crappy weather. It had finally started to rain, a gentle patter at first, but now, only fifteen minutes later, it was coming down steadily and Reno guessed, even without the benefit of a weather report, that this was only the beginning. If he could get off the ground now, he might be able to beat the storm back to Midgar, but if there was much more delay, he didn't know.

He hated waiting. At a hangar in the middle of nowhere, he hadn't seen anything on the way in that might have offered a drink or something to eat. So he sat in the main compartment of the chopper waiting for the grunts that were running around out there, getting soaked, to get their act together. Why couldn't they have been ready for him? Even if they hadn't known he was on his way till he did, there had been three hours of flight time; it should have provided them with ample time to be prepared.

Flicking his phone out, he checked his messages and wondered if he should give Tifa a call. She never called him at work, but she always seemed pleasantly surprised when she heard from him, although her first question was always 'are you all right? Did anything happen?' He was trying the connection, finding it dead, when a loud thump announced the closing of the hangar door. A few seconds later, three men appeared with his cargo.

"Don't bother with that here," one of the men offered up, nodding at the cell phone. "We hardly get reception out here on a good day; with the storm, it's probably impossible."

Reno thanked him and checked the cargo against his manifest, matching the numbers carefully. There was no way after all this that he was returning to Midgar to find out he didn't have everything he was supposed to.

"You know," the man spoke up again, glancing up at the sky, water dripping off his hat and shoulders, "you might want to consider staying over. They say this is just the beginning."

Reno followed his gaze, but shook his head. "It's still early, and I don't know if I have the luxury of a delay. I'm going to try and beat it out."

Mr. Soggy saluted him and wished him luck as he secured the cargo in the back of the chopper and slid the door closed. Once again in the pilot seat, he wasn't too happy to find that he could no longer see where the edge of the storm front was.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, turn, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, turn.

It was a pattern that Tifa had repeated about three hundred times as she marched back and forth past the sliding glass doors. She stopped suddenly as she realized that she was now _counting_ her steps. That was it; she couldn't take the waiting anymore. Even knowing the call wouldn't go through, she had tried calling Reno until she had thrown the phone across the room. With every step she had taken, the overwhelming and impending feeling of doom swelled larger in her chest, and it was getting to the point where she thought she might start hyperventilating.

Grabbing her keys and locking up the house behind her, she ran for the truck, getting soaked in the process, and headed for Shinra Headquarters. They may not want her there, and there would be absolutely nothing she could do, but it had to be better than pacing a bald spot into the carpet.

When she arrived, security stopped her at the gate, and following her earlier instinct, she asked them to page Elena, crossing her fingers that Elena would grant her clearance if she could. If not, Tifa would try using Tseng's name, but saved that as a last resort; she had a feeling Tseng would not be happy with that.

From his booth, with the phone pressed to his ear, the guard was eyeing her strangely, and Tifa felt the muscles in her neck and shoulders knot. As if she wasn't tense enough already. But then the guard turned away, talked for a few more minutes before hanging up, and then the gate was opening. Tifa wondered what, exactly, his conversation with Elena had consisted of.

Elena was waiting for her when she ran up to the front doors, and she walked into Shinra Headquarters dripping and shaking water off her hands and out of her hair.

"What in the world are you doing here, Tifa?"

"I'm worried about Reno, and I couldn't stay home and worry any more. Is he back yet? Has anyone heard from him?"

Elena led her through a maze of corridors and through so many doors that Tifa was sure she would not be able to find her way out again if she tried. Eventually, they entered a large hangar, and Elena led her across the floor, dodging small vehicles here and there on their way to and from the array of larger vehicles parked within the space. Half way across, Tifa figured out where they were going; an inner office that looked like it might operate as a control room, a long window giving a view of the interior. Behind the glass, Tifa caught sight of Tseng who was making his way to the door. As they reached it, the door swung open.

"What is she doing in here?" He questioned Elena. He managed to keep his voice quiet and steady, but Tifa had the distinct impression he might be working hard to contain his anger.

Elena waved a hand at him as she pushed her way past. Tifa remained in the hangar.

"It's no big deal, Tseng. She just wants to know if we've heard anything about Reno."

He glanced at her, refusing to make full eye contact.

"We haven't heard anything, but then radio communication has been out for a while now, due to the storm."

"When is he supposed to be back?" Tifa tried not to let the panic she felt show in her voice.

Tseng looked out the hangar doors into the pouring rain.

"He should have been back a while ago." He was not going to tell her that he was overdue by more than an hour. "But with the weather, ETA's are useless."

Elena stepped back through the door, reaching for Tifa's arm.

"Come on in. I'll get you a cup of coffee or tea or whatever and you can wait in here." Tifa was beginning to appreciate the kind, understanding side of Elena; she hadn't heard so much about this Elena from Reno.

"No, thank you. I'm going to wait out here."

Pretty brown eyes blinked at her.

"It's freezing out here, Tifa." It wasn't really, but Tifa didn't pay a bit of attention to the chill as she walked toward the hangar doors, Elena following her to where she stopped just short of the downpour.

"It won't bother me. I'll stay out of the way. I promise."

"At least let me try to find you a coat or something." Elena offered.

Tseng folded his hands behind his back.

"This is why Turks should not get involved."

Elena turned on him.

"_You_ are not helping matters." She marched back into the control room, followed by Tseng, and Tifa was vaguely aware that they were arguing about something. If she had been in a better mood, she would have enjoyed the two of them sparring verbally. She found it incredibly amusing that Tseng never seemed to realize that Elena was the one person who managed to tear down the walls of his calm, cool exterior. Why they hadn't hooked up, Tifa couldn't imagine.

The door to the control room opened occasionally as workers went in and out, and over the din of the hangar, Tifa caught snatches of their argument.

"How many times have I told you...", "Nevertheless, there's an unwritten policy in place for a reason…", "I know all about your stupid…" that was Elena.

Tifa turned her attention fully to what was going on outside the hangar. Coming toward her, a bulky piece of machinery crawled lethargically over the tarmac. Even with the array of lights on the vehicle, it was hardly visible through the pouring rain, and she couldn't hear its engine, but her eyes and ears strained through the veil of water for any motion or sound she could pick up. Lightening split the sky in jagged blue streaks that reached for the ground like claws from heaven.

The door swung open one more time, and she picked up another snippet of conversation, particularly two words.

"And now he wants to _marry her_…"

Elena must have seen her turn wide eyes to the window, for she hushed Tseng in mid-sentence and came out to join Tifa.

"He'll be fine, you know. He's a good pilot, and if it gets really bad, he'll put down somewhere. And we'll have no way of knowing about it, because of the radios."

Tifa nodded. Elena's being so nice, so reassuring, was getting to her, really playing on her emotions, and tears that had been threatening for quite a while finally managed to escape.

Elena put a hand on her arm.

"You heard what Tseng said."

Tifa nodded again, dashing the tears away quickly. Elena sighed.

"You didn't know."

Tifa swallowed the lump in her throat.

"He hasn't said anything."

"Don't worry; Reno will have plenty of time to ask when he gets back."

"I know you think I'm being silly, but I can't help this feeling I have." Eyes brimming with tears, she met Elena's sympathetic gaze. "He has to come back, Elena. I haven't told him I love him today. I haven't told him…" She cut off, leaning against the edge of the door, sighing and pressing her palms into her eye. "I haven't told him I'm pregnant."

The area around her was anything but silent, but Tifa could swear that if a pin had dropped, she would have heard it. Her senses were way past overload. The only problem was she wasn't hearing the sound she needed to hear.

A hand was on her shoulder, leading her away from the rain and cold.

"Come with me, Tifa." Elena sounded so calm, so rational. "You shouldn't be out here in this weather. We need to get you warm, find you a change of clothes." She was leading Tifa back to the control room, and Tifa's stubbornness failed her. She didn't have the energy to argue anymore, to project her growing lack of hope in her actions. Tifa followed blindly, letting Elena steer, and ended up sitting in a plush swivel office chair. Elena picked up a phone and spoke quietly, and a few minutes later, a young girl appeared in the doorway carrying a pair of sweats and a shirt.

Elena led Tifa to the tiny bathroom in the back.

"The sweats are mine; they might be a little short on you. But the shirt is Reno's. I thought it would make you feel better."

When Tifa returned to her seat, Elena was waiting with a cup of tea, which she took gratefully.

"I have good news; the storm is breaking. We don't have radio back yet, but the worst of the weather is past us. If Reno set down, he might be on his way back by now."

"Thank you, Elena," she offered up weakly, taking a sip of her tea. The warmth helped.

"Can I get you anything else? When was the last time you ate?"

"I'm not hungry."

"But you need to keep your strength up." That almost earned a small laugh. Tifa had _never _pictured Elena as the mother hen type. She still waved off the food. She didn't think her stomach could take it, anyway.

An hour passed. Tifa observed the people in the control room and those out on the tarmac. They were going about their everyday business as best they could in the storm, which had progressively dwindled down. They didn't seem overly concerned with it and it made her feel better, but it also made her feel silly and she started to shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"I'm overreacting, aren't I?" She asked Elena, who was sitting on the desk next to her, legs swinging in the open space between the drawers.

"You're not usually like this, Tifa. It's probably the hormones kicking in."

She hadn't thought of that.

"If that's the case, I hope they don't carry on like this."

"How long?"

"How long what?" Tifa spun to the opening door where a slightly damp Reno was standing, staring at her, clearly confused.

"Tifa? What are you doing here?" He took in her appearance, confusion turning to concern as he walked towards her. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?" She met him halfway in a hug that threatened to crush ribs. Over her shoulder, he mouthed the words 'what happened?' to Elena, who hopped off the desk and motioned the two remaining techs out of the room.

"I think you both have something to tell each other." Reno had no idea what that smile or wink meant. He waited until the door closed, and then pulled back so he could see Tifa's face clearly.

"What is it, Tifa?"

From out on the tarmac, Elena turned back in time to see the surprised expression on Reno's face and the brilliant smile that followed. She couldn't help the warm, happy feeling that filled her, or the blush that rose to her cheeks, as her fellow Turk kissed the woman he loved, and she knew, without a doubt, that the next time she saw Tifa, Reno's ring would be on her finger.


End file.
